March Madness: 10 Best Buzzer-Beaters and Biggest Shots

Drama is the foundation upon which March Madness was built.

And nothing is more dramatic than a game-winning shot in the NCAA Tournament. Only 5 times has the NCAA Tournament championship been won on a walk-off shot, but that’s not the only qualifier. Heck, not all of them made this list. Michael Jordan’s jumper against Georgetown wasn’t a buzzer-beater, for instance, but it provided the winning points and remains one of the most iconic shots in March Madness history. Dozens of early-round games have been won at the buzzer, too.

All told, there have been more than 110 buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history, according to sport-reference.com.

Settling on an undisputed top 10 is an impossible ask. We tried, anyway.

Here are the best of the best in NCAA Tournament history.

10 Best Buzzer-Beaters and Iconic Shots in NCAA Tournament History

10. Michael Jordan’s 17-footer to beat Georgetown (1982 Championship Game)

Yes, technically, Jordan’s iconic go-ahead jumper with 15 seconds left didn’t win the game for North Carolina, but it did account for the final margin and launch the legend.

Georgetown led North Carolina 62-61 when Dean Smith called timeout to set up North Carolina’s ensuing possession. The Tar Heels worked the ball around the perimeter until Jimmy Black drove toward the middle and delivered a skip pass to a wide-open Jordan on the left wing. The freshman never hesitated. He swished the jumper to put North Carolina ahead 63-62.

Georgetown still had plenty of time to attempt its own game-winner, but while trying to set up the final play, Fred Brown mistakenly threw a pass to North Carolina’s James Worthy. Georgetown fouled Worthy with 2 seconds left. Worthy missed both free throws, but Georgetown was out of timeouts and could only attempt a shot from behind half-court.

9. Kyle Guy makes 3 FTs to beat Auburn (2019 Final Four)

Context is everything. A year earlier, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed. Fueled by that dubious distinction, the Cavaliers embarked on an Avenge Tour in 2018-19. They rolled into the Final Four with a 33-3 record, needing just 2 more victories to secure the worst-to-first revenge story.

Auburn was in the Final Four for the first time. The Tigers were red-hot, having won the SEC Tournament and then knocking off No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 2 seed Kentucky to reach the Final Four.

They trailed Virginia by 10 with 5 minutes left before going on a 14-0 run to take a 61-57 lead with 17 seconds left.

That’s when Kyle Guy took over. He hit a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left to draw Virginia within 61-60. The Cavs immediately fouled Jared Harper, who made 1 of 2 free throws for a 62-60 lead with 7 seconds left.

Auburn had fouls to give, and quickly fouled Virginia twice. With 1.5 seconds left, Virginia inbounded to Guy, who launched a 3-pointer from the left corner. In the process, Auburn’s Samir Doughty bumped Guy. Auburn fans will never be convinced the contact was enough to warrant a whistle, but it clearly altered Guy’s shot.

With 0.6 seconds left and Virginia trailing 62-60, Guy stepped to the line. He had to make 2 free throws to force overtime. He made all 3 — the only time in Final Four history that a team won a game with free throws in the final seconds — to send Virginia to the national championship game for the first time.

Two days later, the Cavs completed their ultimate comeback story, beating Texas Tech in overtime to win the national championship.

8. Bryce Drew’s 3-pointer to beat Ole Miss (1998 First Round)

There have been 23 game-winning 3-pointers made in the final 4 seconds of a game in March Madness history. Only 9 of those erased a 2-point deficit. And only one helped a No. 13 seed upset a No. 4 seed.

Everything had to go right for Valparaiso — and it did.

Ole Miss led 69-67 when SEC Player of the Year Ansu Sesay was fouled with 4 seconds left. Sesay missed both free throws. On the second miss, the ball was tipped out of bounds. Officials awarded the ball to Valpo with 2.5 seconds left.

Out of timeouts, Valpo didn’t have time to draw up a play, so it picked one they had practiced: “Pacer.”

Jamie Sykes threw a long pass to Bill Jenkins, who redirected the pass to Drew, who fired a 24-footer at the buzzer to deliver a signature moment and upset.

7. Paul Jesperson’s 50-foot 3-pointer to beat Texas (2016 First Round)

How do you not include the longest buzzer-beater in NCAA Tournament history?

No. 6 seed Texas had just tied the score at 72 with 2.7 seconds left. Out of timeouts and staring at overtime, plucky No. 11 seed Northern Iowa inbounded to Jesperson, who dribbled once to set up a desperation shot just beyond the half-court line.

It banked in — giving Northern Iowa a classic 11-over-6 upset win and Jesperson a shining moment.

6. Terrell Taylor’s 3-pointer to beat Florida (2002 First Round)

Picking 12 over 5 upsets in the opening round is the reason many fans fill out a bracket.

Every year, it seems, it happens.

In 2002, it happened 3 times — setting a record that has been matched only four more times in March Madness history.

How this particular upset happened defied logic.

No. 5 seed Florida featured 5 future NBA players, including veterans Udonis Haslem and Matt Bonner.

No. 12 seed Creighton had future NBA All-Star Kyle Korver — and not much else. Korver was one of the best shooters in the world, but not against Florida. The Gators swarmed him, forcing him into a 4-for-12 shooting performance. All 4 of his field goals were 3-pointers, though.

Florida controlled throughout, but Taylor forced overtime with a late 3-pointer in regulation. He was only getting started.

In the second overtime, he made a short shot to pull Creighton within 82-80. On the ensuing possession, Florida couldn’t get the ball inbounds. Florida nearly answered with a steal, but a loose ball out of bounds set up Creighton’s final play.

The Bluejays inbounded to Taylor, who drove, pulled up and nailed a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left to stun the Gators, 83-82. Taylor finished with a game-high 28 points.

5. Jalen Suggs’ 3-pointer to beat UCLA (2021 Final Four)

Suggs’ game-winning, 37-foot 3-pointer doesn’t need much context, but we’ll provide some, anyway.

Gonzaga entered the Final Four undefeated, a perfect 30-0 but still questioned because of its mid-major status and the fact that it lost the 2017 national championship game to North Carolina.

Could Mark Few win the big one? Or was he destined to be the best men’s basketball coach without a ring? Those narratives followed Few and Gonzaga all season.

UCLA, which went from the First Four to the Final Four, was in position to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game for the first time since losing the 2006 final to Florida.

The score was tied at 90 when Gonzaga inbounded to Suggs, who raced past mid-court and launched a game-winning 3-pointer as the clock expired to send the Zags back to the national title game. Suggs’ 37-footer remains the longest buzzer-beater in Final Four history.

Did he call bank? Doubtful. History doesn’t care.

4. Christian Laettner’s 16-footer to beat Kentucky (1992 Elite Eight)

Laettner is the only player in NCAA history to make 2 game-winning jumpers in the final seconds of an NCAA Tournament. In 1990, he hit a 16-footer to beat UConn and send Duke to the Final Four.

In 1992, he made a more memorable shot.

Down by 1 with 2.1 seconds left in overtime, Laettner caught a full-court inbounds pass from Grant Hill, dribbled once, spun and hit a 16-foot turnaround jump shot at the buzzer to beat Kentucky 104-103 in overtime. That description doesn’t do this game justice. There was a lead change on virtually every possession in overtime in what could easily be described as the greatest game in NCAA Tournament history.

3. Keith Smart’s baseline jumper to beat Syracuse (1987 Championship Game)

Given the circumstances, there’s a case to move Smart’s title-winner to No. 2 or No. 1 on this list.

Indiana trailed by 1 when Smart sank a 16-foot baseline jumper with 4 seconds left to give Indiana its most recent NCAA Tournament championship. The actual shot wasn’t terribly difficult — he pump-faked, dribbled once and pulled up — but if he missed, odds are better than not that Indiana loses and Syracuse celebrates.

He didn’t miss.

2. Lorenzo Charles’ dunk to beat Houston (1983 Championship Game)

Nothing about this game made sense — if you listened to pregame analysis. Cinderella NC State had no business being on the same court as juggernaut Houston, led by two eventual Hall of Famers: Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The Cougars literally had dunked on everybody in the NCAA Tournament — earning the nickname “Phi Slama Jama” in the process for their NBA-like style and pace of play.

NC State? They Survived and Advanced every step of the way, including a 3-game sweep in the ACC Tournament just to get into the NCAA Tournament.

But here they were, somehow tied at 52 in the final minute of the 1983 championship game. NC State inbounded the ball and proceeded to work the clock, setting up for a final shot. It didn’t go as planned, however. Thurl Bailey ended up with the ball in the corner and forced a pass to Dereck Whittenburg, who was well above the top of the key. A Houston defender challenged the pass, nearly stealing it. The clock now at 3 seconds, Whittenburg collected the ball, turned and shot a 35-footer.

Olajuwon and Lorenzo Charles tracked it. Olajuwon, fearing a goaltending call, watched as Charles jumped, caught the air ball in front of the rim and dunked it at the buzzer for the winning points — and only dunk of the game. It was just Charles’ second basket of the game, too, but it’s one of the most famous in March Madness history.

1. Kris Jenkins’ 3-pointer to beat North Carolina (2016 Championship Game)

It’s virtually impossible to top the only walk-off 3-pointer in national championship game history.

Jenkins’ 3-pointer capped one of the most unlikely sequences in March Madness history, too.

Second earlier, UNC’s Marcus Paige made an even more difficult 3-pointer to tie the score at 74. UNC trailed 74-71 with 13.5 seconds left. With the clock inside of 8 seconds, Paige received a pass, dribbled once and began to shoot a long 3-pointer. Two Villanova defenders flew at him, forcing Paige to double-clutch in mid-air. Somehow, his 27-footer still found the bottom of the net to tie the score at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.

Villanova called timeout, and Jay Wright drew up the greatest walk-off play in NCAA history.

Jenkins inbounded the ball to Ryan Arcidiacono, who raced up the left sideline. Arcidiacono wasn’t Option A, however. He was merely the decoy. The plan all along was to feed Jenkins, who trailed the play. As Arcidiacono drew 2 UNC defenders near the 3-point line, he flipped the ball back to Jenkins, who stepped into a wide-open 25-footer with under 1 second left and let it fly.

10 Other Notable Buzzer-Beaters

US Reed (Arkansas), 1981 second-round game

Reed’s 49-foot game-winner was top-10 worthy. It remains the second-longest buzzer-beater in NCAA Tournament history, and it gave No. 5 seed Arkansas a 73-72 win over No. 4 seed Louisville.

James Forrest (Georgia Tech), 1992 second-round game

No. 2 seed USC led the Yellow Jackets by 2 in the closing seconds. Georgia Tech’s roster included 6 future NBA players, but the final play went to unlikely hero Forrest, who caught an inbounds pass, spun and made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull off the upset. It was Forrest’s only 3-pointer of the season. No wonder it prompted announcer Al McGuire to scream: “Holy Mackerel! Holy Mackerel! Holy Mackerel!”

Jermaine Wallace (Northwestern State), 2006 first-round game

Northwestern State has won 1 game in its NCAA Tournament history — and it can thank Wallace for it. Down 2, Wallace hit a long 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to give the No. 14 seed Demons a 64-63 win over No. 3 seed Iowa.

Herb Wilkinson (Utah), 1944 national championship game

Wilkinson made a jumper with 3 seconds left to give Utah a 42-40 win in overtime over Dartmouth. It was the first buzzer-beater in NCAA Tournament history.

Vic Rouse (Loyola, Chicago), 1963 national championship game

Rouse tipped in Les Hunter’s miss at the buzzer to lift Loyola (Chicago) past 2-time defending champion Cincinnati 60-58 in overtime.

Jerrod West (West Virginia), 1998 second-round game

Down by 2, West drilled a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left give No. 10 seed West Virginia a 75-74 victory over No. 2 seed Cincinnati.

Elgin Baylor (Seattle), 1958

Technically, Seattle’s matchup against San Francisco was a Sweet 16 game, but it was Seattle’s opening game of the NCAA Tournament. San Francisco was 2 years removed from winning back-to-back national titles with Bill Russell. Baylor made a 30-footer with 1 second left to win it. The future Hall of Famer finished with 35 points.

Jordan Poole (Michigan), 2018 second-round game

Down 2, Poole hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer stave off No. 6 Houston’s upset bid over the No. 3 seed Wolverines.

Anderson Hunt (UNLV), 1989 Sweet 16

No. 1 seed Arizona led the No. 4 seed Runnin’ Rebels by 2 with time running out when Hunt hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to reach the Elite Eight. A year later, Hunt was named Most Outstanding Player after leading UNLV to its first national championship.

Chris Chiozza (Florida), 2017 Sweet 16

Florida trailed Wisconsin 83-81 with 4 seconds left in overtime, when Chiozza received the inbounds pass 90 feet from the basket. He raced up the court, tightly guarded the entire way before leaning in, jumping and shooting an off-balanced 3 that dropped at the buzzer and sent the Gators to the Elite Eight. Even crazier? Wisconsin forced overtime when Zak Showalter made a 1-legged 3-pointer at the buzzer.